Tag Archives: Some Like it Hot

Billy Wilder’s Wit & Wisdom

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Marilyn & Billy

After the overwhelmingly positive response to Billy’s Tips for Writers, we thought we’d share some quotes from Conversations with Wilder.

On Marilyn Monroe: “She was very tough to work with. But what you had, by hook or crook, once you saw it on the screen, it was just amazing. Amazing, the radiation that came out. And she was, believe it or not, an excellent dialogue actress.”

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On Barbara Stanwyck: “With Stanwyck, I had absolutely no difficulties at all. And she knew the script, everybody’s lines. You could wake her up in the middle of the night and she’d know the scene. Never a fault, never a mistake — just a wonderful brain she had.”

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On Audrey Hepburn: “That’s the element X that people have, or don’t have. You can meet somebody and you can be enchanted, and then you photograph them and it’s nothing. But she had it. And there will not be another. She exists forever, in her time. … She started something new, she started something classy. She, and the other Hepburn, Katharine, at a different time.”

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“I never overestimate the audience, nor do I underestimate them. I just have a very rational idea as to who we’re dealing with, and that we’re not making a picture for Harvard Law School, we’re making a picture for middle-class people, the people that you see on the subway, or the people that you see in a restaurant. Just normal people.”

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“I just always think, `Do I like it?’ And if I like it, maybe other people will come and like it too.”

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“I, you know, am all over the place — every category of pictures I have made, good, bad or indifferent. I could not make, like Hitchcock did, one Hitchcock picture after another. … I wanted to do a Hitchcock picture, so I did `Witness for the Prosecution,’ then I was bored with it, so I moved on.”

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On making “Some Like It Hot” in black and white: “I liked it in black and white. I was then one of the last guys still doing it. But when I run into people — you know, as a test — they say, `I saw “Some Like It Hot,” it was wonderful, wonderful,’ and I say, `How did you like the color photography?’ They say, `It was great, it was absolutely great.’ People forget, they don’t remember. It’s less important than the content of the picture, you know. After five minutes they forget about it.”

 

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May 2, 2012

Billy Wilder: Happy Birthday!

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I know it’s getting late today, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to mention and celebrate the late Mr. Billy Wilder’s birthday. Mr. Wilder would have been 105 today. Luckily, you can honor the man by checking out the Conversations in Wilder section of the site . You’ll find an excerpt from the book, Wilder quotes, a filmography and mini biography. You could also watch one of his fabulous films. The Apartment would be a good place to start. You really can’t go wrong with Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, Some Like it Hot, Kiss Me Stupid or countless others in his filmography. Billy directed 27 films, but many people forget what a great writer he was as well.  I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Wilder quotes:

“You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.”

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Jun 22, 2011

Cameron’s Top 10 – Empire 500 Greatest

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rulesofthegame

As a follow up to a previous post regarding Empire magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time”, many of you have asked what Cameron’s personal Top 10 was. There’s some expected films here, but also a few surprises (No Harold and Maude?)! So without further adieu…

  1. The Rules of the Game (Renoir)
  2. The Apartment (Wilder)
  3. Shampoo (Ashby)
  4. Tootsie (Pollack)
  5. Strangelove (Kubrick)
  6. Local Hero (Forsyth)
  7. Old Boy (Chan-Wook)
  8. Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler)
  9. Some Like It Hot (Wilder)
  10. The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson)
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Nov 10, 2008

New Wilder Book

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taschenwilder

There’s an excellent new Billy Wilder book on Some Like It Hot by the fine folks at Taschen. It includes a detailed script and a rare behind the scenes look at the making of this classic film. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Interviews with Billy Wilder, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and others
  • Complete facsimile of the screenplay with film stills from every scene
  • Excerpts from the script’s first draft
  • Behind-the-scenes photos
  • Original promotional materials from all around the world
  • Annotated/illustrated Billy Wilder filmography
  • Marilyn Monroe’s personal promptbook (with her handwritten comments)

 

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Nov 7, 2001

David Crosby: Remember My Name-Out Now on DVD/Blu-ray & Digital!


  • Almost Famous- Paramount+
  • Aloha- Starz, DirecTV
  • David Crosby- Starz, DirecTV
  • E-Town- FUBO
  • Fast Times- TUBI
  • Jerry Maguire- Netflix
  • Say Anything...- FUBO,Paramount+,MGM+
  • Singles- Vudu
  • Vanilla Sky- Prime Video,Pluto TV
  • We Bought A Zoo- Disney+